While there are 100 of species of hydrangeas, they fall into two categories: mop head (or "pom pom" or "big leaf") and lace cap. In contrast to the lace cap, the pom pom hydrangea has sterile florets with smaller and pollen and seed bearing blooms. Lace-cap hydrangeas are round, flat flowerhead with outer rings. The outer flowers are sterile while the inside core is fertile.
Penny Mac
The Penny Mac is named for Penny McHenry, a hydrangea lover from Atlanta (and founder of the American Hydrangea society) who got a cutting and, with the help of a woody plant expert named Michael Dirr, got the plant to the market.
When mature, Penny Mac can get 4-6' tall and 3-4' wide so give her room to grow. Patience, grasshopper. If you get whiny while waiting for her to do her thing, fill in the empty space with some annuals. She needs dappled sun, like most hydrangeas, full sun will burn leaves but full shade with inhibit flowering. This is the perfect example of a hydrangea that will bloom blue when the soil is acidic (lucky us!) and pink when alkaline. What I like best is that it is a "rebloomer," meaning it will flower on both the previous year's wood and the current years, so a pruning mishap is not the end of the world!
When mature, Penny Mac can get 4-6' tall and 3-4' wide so give her room to grow. Patience, grasshopper. If you get whiny while waiting for her to do her thing, fill in the empty space with some annuals. She needs dappled sun, like most hydrangeas, full sun will burn leaves but full shade with inhibit flowering. This is the perfect example of a hydrangea that will bloom blue when the soil is acidic (lucky us!) and pink when alkaline. What I like best is that it is a "rebloomer," meaning it will flower on both the previous year's wood and the current years, so a pruning mishap is not the end of the world!
Limelight
Hydrangea – Limelight (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’)
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I found this on the Proven Winners site and I just couldn't come up with a better description: "Bigleaf Hydrangea, reblooming or not, cannot take the heat and sun. They simply collapse under these conditions. Limelight on the other hand thrives. It takes sun or shade, sand or clay soils....Besides its unique flowers and its superb adaptability....It has very strong stems that hold up its massive flowers even after a heavy rain. The old standard variety-Pee Gee Hydrangea-deserves to be thrown on the compost heap because it is notorious for collapsing under its own weight. Also, if you watch Limelight closely you will notice it just keeps sending up fresh new flowers. It blooms continuously from mid-summer until frost. This results in a unique autumn floral display-while the older flowers change from green to white to pink to burgundy, new green flowers are added to the color mix. In the autumn this wide range of flower colors is simply breathtaking."
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